Learning To Live (again)
by Bmah
Summary: As Harry and Hermione try to overcome their difficult lives before Hogwarts together; dark forces, a prophecy, and a language barrier prevent them from learning the difference between living and surviving. Tags in first (and only) authors note, so it's a bit long. Sorry.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, everything recognizable belongs to J.K. Rowling. This is in honor of the 20th anniversary of HP and the Philosopher's Stone! Please Review! And feel free to send input on what I have/should do and any ideas you have! I will try to respond to all reviews as quickly as I can in a PM, and I will post as often as I can too! This is posted without anything written in advance so that I feel obligated to continue it, you find out what happens about an hour after my friends/betas make sure I haven't written in gibberish.

Tags: Abused!Harry, RunAway!Harry, RunAway!Hermione, RunAway!Seamus, Mute!Hermione, Bullied!Hermione, SexuallyAbused!Hermione, Harry/Hermione, Neville/Luna, Resorted!Luna  
Tags will be updated as the story is!  
Language guide will be at the top of each chapter with a different language in it!

Harry Potter's bedroom was the cupboard under the stairs on Number 4 Privet Drive. But Harry Potter did not live there. He cleaned that house, and he cooked the meals for the people who did live in that house, and he turned 9 in that house. He did not make messes in that house, or eat a meal in that house, and he never had a birthday party in that house. Harry Potter did not receive his childhood in that house. Instead, the people who lived in that house gave him very different things. The people who lived in that house called themselves his Aunt and Uncle, but they gave him rags to wear, scraps to eat, and beatings that left him unable to move for days as gifts for his birthday.

Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of Number 4 Privet Drive had been proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to have been involved in anything like child abuse or the imprisonment of a child; they had absolutely spoiled and doted on their son Dudley Dursley.

Dudley had died a few years back though, the day of his 6th birthday when a poisonous snake bit him at the zoo during his birthday party. The zookeepers were confounded when the boy had started seizing halfway through 'Happy Birthday' and didn't think to grab the kit that had the ability to save his life; after all, 'the poisonous snakes were kept in very secure containers on the other side of the zoo'. In the commotion of people trying to save Dudley Dursley, no one had noticed how a little boy, with bruises covering his entire body, breathed a quiet sigh of relief and whispered 'thank you' as a tear fell down his cheek. Harry Potter thought his life had caught a break now that one of his three tormentors was dead, he had no idea what he would go through in the next three years.

Perhaps the abuse was why Harry Potter felt only curiosity, wondering what caused the fire, as he watched his Aunt and Uncle burn to death in the house that he cleaned. 'Probably one of Uncle Vernon's cigarettes', he thought to himself as he walked away from the fire.


	2. Seamus

Harry began to leave Little Whinging but found himself sitting down in the alley just a few moments later. What was he going to do? He had no food, no clothes, and no money. Worst of all, it was in the middle of winter! 'At least I'm free from the Dursleys!' he bitterly thought, 'But where am I supposed to go now that they are gone? I don't want to go to another family, they have no use for freaks like me.'

The boy looked mournfully at the ground, wishing he could cry. No one even knew he lived with the Dursleys, he didn't think anyone even knew he existed. Harry focused on the sounds of the sirens in the distance going to help the people in the house he just walked away.

"Are you okay?" someone asked. Startled, Harry jumped and quickly looked up to see a boy about his age with short black hair and ratty clothes that looked as if they had been handed down through several generations without ever being washed.

"I'm fine" Harry said tersely "Who are you? Where did you even come from" The boy picked at the sleeves of his frayed jacket absentmindedly as he stared at Harry with a look of disbelief.

"Are you sure man?" Speaking slowly, the boy walked closer to Harry and sat down.

"Yes, I'm sure. And you didn't answer me. Who are you?" Harry snapped, scooting away from the boy until his back hit one of the tunnels supports.

"Sorry about that man," said the boy, looking surprised he forgot to say his name "I'm Seamus, Seamus Finnigan. Nice to meet you," Holding out his hand expectantly he paused for a minute, but continued speaking when the only response was a suspicious glance. "I was walking to where I'm calling my bed for the night" Seamus chuckled to himself as though something was funny but didn't share the joke. "What about you?"

"What about me?" Harry asked in a slightly kinder tone than he had used when he snapped at Seamus a moment earlier.

"What's your name? And why are you sitting on the ground of a dirty ally in the middle of winter?" while he had looked amused when he began to speak, Seamus looked truly concerned when he finished talking.

Harry thought for a moment before answering. Could he trust Seamus? He seemed nice enough, 'Everyone thought the Dursleys were good people too' a quiet and scared voice whispered from the back of Harry's head. The thought of having someone else use his name as if it was something to be ashamed of terrified him more than he thought it would. Quickly looking around, Harry picked the first name he saw. "John," Harry said with fake confidence filling his voice "My name is John."

Seamus gave 'John' a smile. "Well John, do you have a last name"

Smirking at Seamus, Harry replied with a teasing tone "Why Seamus Finnigan, if I do why would I share it? You really shouldn't trust strangers you know, especially not ones you meet in an alleyway." The two boys shared a soft chuckle before the sound of a police siren broke the calm that had filled the air around the boys. Seamus looked up sharply with a panicked look in his eyes.

"I'm not supposed to be here!" exclaimed Seamus as he stood up quickly and began to walk away when the sound of Harry speaking caused him to turn around.

"How funny, neither am I. Do you know where we could hide?" The look of sheer terror in Harry's eyes as he stood up caused Seamus to pause.

"Funnily enough John," Seamus said staring Harry in the eyes "I believe I do have a place we can hide. Would you like to come?" The sirens were much louder now and the two could see the flashing lights of a police car coming down the street. Seamus held out a hand towards Harry and whispered, "I think it's time to run now"

Harry grabbed the offered hand, "I do believe you are right, it is time to run. Lead the way!"

The boys run down the alley and across Magnolia Crescent, the sound of their feet echoing through the streets.

"Over here!" whispers Seamus as he pulls Harry towards a fence. Seamus withdrew his hand from Harry's and opened the gate to the backyard of one of the houses "Run into the park!" The boys ran in silence, Harry hoping Seamus wouldn't lead him astray as the sound of sirens echoed in his ears. Eventually, Seamus directed Harry into a seemingly run-down building; and the two boys doubled over and caught their breath as the sound of sirens faded. "Well John, welcome to my home"

Harry looked up to see the faces of 3 children staring at him.

"Who are you?"


End file.
